Moghul Chicken Dilruba

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This rich, spicy-sweet chicken dish from northwestern India has distinct Moghul influences. “Dilruba” means “sweetheart.” The Moghuls controlled most of India from 1526 until 1839, leaving behind some of India’s most famous architecture, including the Taj Mahal. The Moghul emperors loved to eat, and twenty-course meals were common in the royal courts. Not surprisingly, Moghul rule had a greater influence on Punjabi cuisine that that of any other conqueror.

Ingredients

  • 2 medium onions

  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger root

  • 6 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil

  • 1 3 to 4 pound chicken, skin removed, cut into small serving pieces

  • 1 cup fresh plain yogurt

  • 1/4 cup almonds

  • 1/4 cup walnuts

  • 1/4 cup melon, pumpkin or squash seeds (optional)

  • 1 cup milk

  • 2 tablespoons garam masala

  • 1 teaspooon ground turmeric

  • 2-3 fresh green cayenne peppers, minced, or substitute any small, hot chiles such as serranos or jalapeños

  • Salt and ground cayenne to taste

  • A few strands whole saffron, soaked in two tablespoons warm milk

  • Minced fresh cilantro and whole almonds and cashews for garnish

Instructions

Put the onions and ginger into a blender or food processor and process to a smooth paste (about the consistency of apple sauce). Heat the butter in a heavy, deep skillet and gently brown the onion mixture, stirring often.

Add the chicken and yogurt. Combine well and cook over medium heat until the mixture becomes rather dry and the chicken begins to brown.

Grind the almonds, walnuts, and melon seeds until quite fine. Stir them into the milk. Add this mixture to the chicken along with the garam masala, turmeric, chile peppers, salt and ground cayenne pepper.

Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the chicken is very tender and the sauce is very thick (about 10 to 15 minutes). Stir in the saffron and milk mixture and cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Garnish with cilantro and nuts and serve hot.

Madras Fried Chile Fritters (Molagi Bajii)

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Bajiis, the unstuffed Madras version of chiles rellenos, are popular tea-time snacks in Madras and other cities of Tamil Nadu. They are often accompanied by a mango chutney like the one in this section, and the taste combination is delicious. Serve with fruit drinks or beer.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups vegetable oil

  • ½ cup corn flour

  • ½ cup rice flour

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • ½ cup water

  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin

  • 10 green New Mexican chiles, roasted and peeled, stems on, slit length-wise on one side

Instructions

Heat the oil in a skillet or wok over low heat.

Combine the flours and the salt in a bowl and add a teaspoon of the warm oil. Blend in the water and whisk to make a thick batter.

Turn the heat under the skillet or wok to high.

Rub the ground cumin inside the chiles and dip them in the batter. Reduce the heat to medium and fry the chiles in the oil for 2 minutes, turning once, or until they are golden brown all over.

Gravlax with Spicy Mustard Sauce

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This Swedish dish takes two days to make, but it’s well worth the effort. After curing, the gravlax is sliced as thinly as possible, placed on black bread, and served with a little of the mustard sauce spread over it.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup sugar

  • 1/3 cup kosher salt

  • 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper

  • 2 small bunches dill, coarsely chopped

  • ½ bunch chervil, chopped

  • 1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped

  • 1 bunch lemon balm, chopped

  • 2 tablespoons prepared hot mustard (with chiles)

  • 1 tablespoon mustard powder

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 2 tablespoons white vinegar

  • 4 tablespoons canola oil

  • 2 tablespoons freshly chopped dill

  • 2 salmon fillets, about 1 ½ pounds each

Instructions

In a bowl, combine the sugar, salt, and pepper to make the sugar mixture. In another bowl, combine the dill, chervil, parsley, and lemon balm to make the herb mixture. In a third bowl combine the mustard, mustard powder, sugar, vinegar, oil, and dill to make the mustard sauce. Cover and refrigerate the mustard sauce.

Place 1 fillet skin side down in a shallow bowl. Sprinkle ½ the sugar mixture over the fillet, ½ of the herb mixture, the rest of the sugar mixture, and the rest of the herb mixture. Place the second fillet on top of the first, flesh to flesh, and wrap with plastic wrap. Place the wrapped fillets in a shallow pan and weigh them down with something heavy, like bricks covered in aluminum foil or a cast iron skillet.

Refrigerate for 24 hours, then flip the fillets, weigh them down, and refrigerated for another 24 hours. Serve with the mustard sauce.

 

Spiced Coconut Beef (Rendang)

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In Indonesia, this is the preferred method of cooking water buffalo, a fairly tough meat. Since they are scarce in Amsterdam, this recipe from Indrapura Restaurant features beef. It is served over rice. The chef at Indrapura notes: “Use mature coconuts. Taste before you add salt during the cooking.” To make coconut milk from scratch, grate the coconut and soak the flesh in hot water.

Ingredients

For the Spice Paste:

  • 20 shallots, peeled and chopped

  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled

  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

  • 1 small fresh piece of ginger, peeled

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 7 fresh red chiles, such as jalapeño, seeds and stems removed, chopped

  • Small amount of water, if needed

For the Rendang:

  • 3 pound chuck steak, cut into1-inch cubes

  • 8 cups coconut milk (unsweetened)

  • 2 lemon grass stalks, bruised

  • 1 whole tamarind pod

Instructions

In a blender or food processor, combine the ingredients for the spice paste and puree until smooth.

Place the beef and spice paste in a wok over high heat and saute for five minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Stirring continuously, bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the coconut milk has thickened.

Turn the heat down to low and cook until the oil comes out of what is left of the gravy, and stir continuously. Let the meat and spices fry in the oil until the color is deep, dark brown still stirring. The length of cooking process should be around 4 hours. Remove the lemon grass stalks and the tamarind pod before serving.

Shrimp with Chile Paste

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Typically, this fired up but sweet shrimp dish is served over rice with sliced cucumbers on the side. The recipe was provided by Indrapura Restaurant, but there were some language difficulties and I was forced to improvise.

Ingredients

For the Spice Paste:

  • 1 cup water

  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled

  • 4 red chiles, such as jalapeños, seeds and stems removed, chopped

  • 1 small piece ginger, peeled

  • 2 ripe tomatoes, quartered

  • 3 tablespoons sugar

  • Salt to taste

For the  Shrimp:

  • ½ cup vegetable oil

  • 3 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on

Instructions

In a blender or food processor, combine all the Spice Paste ingredients and puree until smooth.

In a wok, heat the oil until hot and fry the shrimp for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove them to a bowl lined with paper towels.

Add the Spice Paste to the wok and fry on high heat for about five minutes, or until it smells very fragrant, stirring constantly. Add the shrimp and stir together for 1 minute. Remove and serve the shrimp in the sauce.